Pseudohomophone Naming and the Word Frequency Effect

An experiment by McCann and Besner (1987) suggested that non-words that are homophonic with a high-frequency word (e.g. “keap”) are named in the same amount of time as non-words that are homophonic with a low-frequency word (e.g. “fome”), despite such pseudohomophones being faster to name than non-pseudohomophones (e.g. “feap”, “yome”). Such a result is a challenge to any model of lexical processing that places the word-frequency effect at the stage when the word is being selected from amongst all lexical entries. McCann and Besner propose a complex alternative account where frequency effects arise at a later stage of processing, a stage that is not involved in the naming of pseudohomophones. The purpose of the present study is to look for a frequency effect in the naming of pseudohomophones, controlling for orthographic factors that McCann and Besner ignored. The first experiment, using a homophone decision task, establishes a set of items that produce a clear frequency effect. These items are then used in a naming experiment which also reveals a clear frequency effect for those subjects who make use of a lexical route when pronouncing pseudohomophones. It is concluded from this that the complex model developed by McCann and Besner is unnecessary.     

Embryonic olfactory learning in frogs

We examined the effect of embryonic olfactory experiences on behaviour after hatching in two species of anuran amphibians, Rana temporaria and Rana sylvatica. Odorants (orange and citral) injected into the egg were “learned” by the embryo and subsequently preferred by tadpoles after hatching. The observed preferences were specific to the odours experienced prior to hatching, and tadpoles discriminated between the odour experienced as embryos and a novel odour. The acquired preference was maintained after metamorphosis for those individuals that exhibited a preference as tadpoles. Preferences of tadpoles were also influenced “naturally” by odours present in the water surrounding the developing embryos. The experimentally induced olfactory preferences did not appear to influence the exhibition of sibling recognition abilities. The study represents the first demonstration of “embryonic” learning in amphibians, and the functions and importance of early olfactory learning for amphibians are discussed.     

Clarifying problems and offering solutions for correlated error when assessing the validity of selected-subtest short forms

The correlation between a short-form (SF) test and its full-scale (FS) counterpart is a mainstay in the evaluation of SF validity. However, in correcting for overlapping error variance in this measure, investigators have overattenuated the validity coefficient through an intuitive misapplication of P. Levy's (1967) formula. The authors of the present article clarify that such corrections should be based on subtest-level versus FS-level data. Additionally, the authors propose a simple, modified equation incorporating FS-level scores that provides liberal and conservative validity measures for comparison across estimation methods, and they demonstrate its use in both a normative (N = 2,450) and clinical psychiatric (N = 216) sample.     

Stigma and beliefs of efficacy towards traditional Chinese medicine and Western psychiatric treatment among Chinese-Americans

In this study we examined community attitudes of efficacy and shame to investigate the factors that may underlie mental health service underutilization among Chinese Americans. We administered an experimental vignette to assess beliefs of efficacy and shame toward using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as opposed to Western health services in a sample of 90 Chinese Americans obtained through a national telephone survey. Contrary to predictions, beliefs of efficacy for treating mental disorders were found to be greater for Western psychiatric services when compared with TCM. As predicted however, Chinese Americans perceived greater community attitudes of shame when accessing Western psychiatric services as opposed to TCM to treat a mental disorder. Furthermore, these differences in community attitudes of shame only occurred among respondents who received a psychiatric condition vignette, but not with respondents who were administered a vignette of a physical disorder. These findings suggest that perceived shame may play an important role in help seeking and that integration of TCM with Western psychiatric care may have implications for reducing shame for Chinese Americans.     

Children prefer certain individuals over perfect duplicates

Adults value certain unique individuals--such as artwork, sentimental possessions, and memorabilia--more than perfect duplicates. Here we explore the origins of this bias in young children, by using a conjurer's illusion where we appear to produce identical copies of real-world objects. In Study 1, young children were less likely to accept an identical replacement for an attachment object than for a favorite toy. In Study 2, children often valued a personal possession of Queen Elizabeth II more than an identical copy, but showed no such bias for another sort of valuable object. These findings suggest that young children develop attachments to individuals that are independent of any perceptible properties that the individuals possess.